How to write kindness?
How can the seeds for a better future be sown by literature that is rooted in the time of writing, in everyday life, in the inescapable present? How can the world be changed by literature when reading and writing it is an individual, solitary experience with the text and one’s life?
Perhaps literature gains strength when it is rooted in activities that actively and collectively try to improve life, to stand up for one’s kindred, and to create, strengthen and unite communities. Perhaps, with the support of such experience, it is also possible through literature to reduce social inequality, create better futures and avoid worse ones. Believing in this possibility, the youth literary magazine Värske Rõhk asked nine collaborators to participate in the project “How to write kindness?”. The project, which started in 2023, consisted of three parts for the participants: volunteering in a freely chosen organization that works to improve social welfare; taking part in regular support meetings; and writing a literary text based on the volunteer experience. Young authors participating in the project were: Helena Aadli, Oliver Issak, Saara Liis Jõerand, Anastassia Kuznetsova, Andreas Kübar, Emma Lotta Lõhmus, Karin Orgulas, Johanna Rannik and Hildegard Reimann. The authors were prepared for volunteer work and writing by joint training days, in which tips and support were given by writers and artists whose work is based on socially sensitive material, and by specialist supervisions, where authors could discuss their experiences as volunteers among themselves and sympathize with each other.
The organizations whose ranks they worked in were the Estonian Women’s Support and Information Centre, Estonian Refugee Council, Feministeerium, Pahkla Camphill Village, Peaasi (Head Matters NGO), Volunteer Fire Department of Saku, Volunteer Companion, Ööhaldjad (Nightlife Harm Reduction). Time will tell what kind of seeds “How to write kindness?” sowed for the future, but it’s a good sign that several people who participated in the project have continued volunteering after the project.
We thank our partners: Eesti Novell, Literary Festival Prima Vista, SA Kultuurileht, Avatud Meele Instituut, Vabatahtlik Seltsiline, Sveta Grigorjeva, Jan Kaus, Marta Vaarik.
The project is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 main programme.